2 Kings 18:23

Assyria

²¹ Look now, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.

²² But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is He not the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem: ‘You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem’?

Now, therefore, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them!

²⁴ For how can you repel a single officer among the least of my master’s servants when you depend on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?

²⁵ So now, was it apart from the LORD that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The LORD Himself said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: Now, therefore, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them!
KJV: Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
WEB: Now therefore, please give pledges to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses if you are able on your part to set riders on them.
ASV: Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
DARBY: And now, engage, I pray thee, with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou canst set the riders upon them.
BLB: And now give a pledge, please, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give to you two thousand horses, if you are able to put for yourself riders on them.

ÅB: Men gjør nå et veddemål med min herre, kongen i Assyria: Jeg vil gi deg to tusen hester om du kan få deg folk til å ride på dem.
OTB: Nå da, gjør et veddemål med min herre, kongen av Assyria, og jeg vil gi deg to tusen hester, hvis du er i stand til å sette ryttere på dem.
B1930: Men gjør nu et veddemål med min herre, kongen i Assyria: Jeg vil gi dig to tusen hester om du kan få dig folk til å ride på dem.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

1 Kings 20:10
Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if enough dust remains of Samaria for each of my men to have a handful.”
Read in context
1 Kings 20:18
“If they have marched out in peace,” he said, “take them alive. Even if they have marched out for war, take them alive.”
Read in context
Isaiah 36:8–9
Now, therefore, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them!
Read in context
Isaiah 10:13–14
For he says: ‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, for I am clever. I have removed the boundaries of nations and plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their rulers.
Read in context
1 Samuel 17:44
“Come here,” he called to David, “and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
Read in context
Nehemiah 4:2–5
before his associates and the army of Samaria, saying, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Can they restore the wall by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?”
Read in context
Psalms 123:3–4
Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy, for we have endured much contempt.
Read in context
1 Samuel 17:42
When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a boy, ruddy and handsome.
Read in context